Costa de Oro Winemaker Dinner with Gary Burk at Central City Market

At CENTRAL CITY MARKET
Featuring Winemaker Gary Burk
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010, 7:00 PM

First Course
Local Artisanal Cheese Plate
Paired with 2009 Pinot Noir Rose

Second Course
Ahi Tuna Crudo, Grilled Pineapple, Avocado Mousse
Paired with 2009 Santa Barbara Country Pinot Grigio

Third Course
Balsamic Cherry Glazed Quail, Black Pepper Polenta
Paired with 2008 Santa Barbara County Chardonnay

Fourth Course
Beef Tenderloin Medallions, Cabrales Blue Cheese, Roasted Potatoes
Paired with 2008 Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir

Dessert
Santa Maria Strawberry and Rhubarb Napoleon
Paired with 2006 Syrah Dessert Wine

$65 per person including wine pairings
Space is very limited; please make reservations at 805-925-7766

Cookie & Wine Pairing Recipe #7: Cambria

These Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies from Martha Stewart Living pair perfectly with Cambria‘s Syrah.

Suggested alterations to recipe: Omit the freshly grated ginger. Semi-sweet chocolate chips can be substituted instead of cuttting up the chocolate into chunks.

Prefer Pinot? Try this Oatmeal Toffee Cookie recipe instead.

Cookie & Wine Pairing #6: Kenneth Volk

Raspberry and Almond Shortbread Thumbprints

Ingredients:
1 Cup butter, softened
2/3 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
3/4 tsp almond extract
1 tsp milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, cream together butter and white sugar until smooth. Mix in 1/2 tsp almond extract. Mix in flour until dough comes together. Roll dough into 1 1/2 inch balls, and place on ungreased cookie sheets. Make a small hole in the center of each ball, using your thumb and finger, and fill the hole with preserves.

Bake for 14 to 18 minutes in preheated oven, or until lightly browned. Let cool 1 minute on the cookie sheet.

In a medium bowl, mix together the confectioners sugar, 3/4 tsp almond extract and milk until smooth. Drizzle lightly over warm cookies.

Source: All Recipes

Pair with Kenneth Volk Vyd. 2007 Viognier.

Cookie & Wine Pairing #5: Foxen

Olive Oil Cookies

Yield: About 4 dozen cookies
Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• Pinch salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary or 1/2 teaspoon dried
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup olive oil, plus a little for cookie sheet
• 3/4 cup , or a little more, dry red wine

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Combine the dry ingredients. Beat the eggs with the olive oil and wine. Use a rubber spatula to stir the liquid mix into the dry one, just until well combined; if the mixture is stiff, add a little more wine.
2. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto a lightly oiled cookie sheet and back 12 to 15 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool a couple of minutes, then remove the cookies to a rack to cool further.

Pair with 2007 Foxen Pinot Noir.

Suggestion: support your local economy and buy local olive oil such as Global Garden’s Olive Oil (seen in photo above) or olive oils made by your local winery.

Cookie & Wine Pairing #4: Costa de Oro

Potato Chip Cookies

1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup butter
1 egg yolk
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1/2 cup crushed potato chips
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350F. Cream shortening, butter, sugar and egg yolk. Add rest of the ingredients. Make into balls, flatten with a fork. Bake 12-14 minutes. Sprinkle sugar on top while hot.

This cookie goes very well with the Costa de Oro ’07 Santa Barbara County Chardonnay.

Submitted by Audra Vasquez (it was her grandmother’s recipe).

Cookie & Wine Pairing #3: Riverbench

No Bake Chocolate and Peanut Butter Bars
from Martha Stewart Living

Coat a 9 by 13 inch baking dish with cooking spray and line with parchment paper, leaving a 2-3 inch overhang on long sides.

Chop 9 ounces of chocolate wafers until they are fine crumbs. Combine these with 1 ½ cups oats, 1 ¼ cup powdered sugar, and ¼ tsp. salt.

Melt 1 stick and 2 tbsp. unsalted butter on medium heat and then add 1 cup chunky peanut butter and ¾ cup smooth peanut butter. Whisk until combined. Add to wafer mixture and stir until just moist. Flatten into parchment lined dish and chill for half an hour.

Melt 10 ounces chocolate chips and pour over chilled bars until entire surface is covered with a thin layer. Chill for 15 minutes. Melt 3 tbsp. smooth peanut butter and drizzle on top, then drizzle 1.5 ounces of melted milk chocolate on top, too. Chill for another 15 minutes, cut into bars and serve.

Pair with with any red wine, but we like Riverbench‘s 2007 Reserve Pinot the best with this recipe.

Cookie & Wine Pairing #2: Cottonwood Canyon

These two recipes from Cottonwood Canyon pair well with their 2005 Dessert Syrah and are simple to make.

Hershey’s Premier Chocolate and Raspberry Crème Cookies

6 TBSP butter, softened
1/3 C butter flavored shortening
½ C packed light brown sugar
1/3 C granulated sugar
1 egg
1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 C all-purpose flour
1/3 C Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1-1/3 C (8 oz pkg) Hershey’s Dark Chocolate Baking Pieces Filled with Raspberry Crème

1. Heat oven to 350ºF.
2. Beat butter and shortening in large bowl until well blended. Add brown sugar and granulated sugar; beat thoroughly. Add egg and vanilla, beating until well blended. Stir together flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa; gradually beat into butter mixture. Stir in baking pieces. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet.
3. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. About 3-1/2 dozen cookies.

Recipe from Hershey’s Premier Baking Pieces Dark Chocolate Filled with Raspberry Crème.

***

Chocolate Raspberry Cake

Betty Crocker Super Moist Dark Chocolate Cake Mix
Betty Crocker Rich & Creamy Dark Chocolate Frosting
Raspberry Fruit Spread
Eggs
Oil
Water

Bake cake according to directions on back of box for two 8-9″ rounds. Allow cakes to cool then cut in half horizontally to create layers, you will now have 4 equal layers of cake. Spread raspberry fruit spread on bottom layer, place a layer of cake on top. Spread raspberry fruit spread on top of second layer and place third layer on top. Spread raspberry fruit spread on top of third layer and finish with fourth layer of cake. Cover cake, top and sides, with dark chocolate frosting.

Cookie & Wine Pairing #1: CORE Wine Company

COOKIE & WINE PAIRING RECIPE #1: CORE Wine Company

Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies with Cranberries and Chocolate Chunks Adapted from MARTHA STEWART LIVING Cookbook

Pair with 2005 Candy Core, late harvest grenache
Alta Mesa Vineyard
500 ml. italian bottle
$35.00

7 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chunks
3/4 c. dried chopped cranberries
1 1/2 c. + 1 Tbsp. all purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 Tbsp. cocoa powder
8 Tbsp. unsalted butter (1 stick)
1/2 c. dark brown sugar, packed
1/2 c. unsulfured molasses
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 c. granulated sugar (for coating cookies)

Line 2 baking sheets with parchments. Chop chocolate into 1/4″ chunks, set aside. In a medium bowl, sift flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg & cocoa.

In the bowl of electric mixer with paddle, beat butter until whitened-4 min. Add brown sugar; beat until combined-Add molasses & combine.

In a small bowl, dissolve baking soda in 1 1/2 tsp. of boiling water.
Beat 1/2 of flour mixture into butter mixture.
Beat in baking soda mixture, then remaining 1/2 flour mixture. Mix in chocolate & cranberries; turn out onto a piece of plastic wrap.
Pat dough out to 1″ thick, seal with wrap, refrigerate until firm, 2 hours or more.

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Roll doug into 1 1/2″ balls, place 2″ apart on baking sheets. Refrigerate 20 minutes.
Roll in sugar. Bake until surface cracks–10 to 12 min. Let cool for 5 min. Place on rack to cool.

Riverbench’s Halloween Candy + Wine Pairing Tasting

Halloween has come and gone but you still have that leftover bag of mixed Halloween candy in your cupboard. Want a great way to entertain guests without baking a dessert for the occasion? Why not use your leftover Halloween candy and pair it with wine for a truly memorable tasting? During the weeks before Halloween, Riverbench Vineyard and Winery created a candy-centric tasting menu with wine pairings in honor of Halloween. Try theirs or come up with some of your own:

2007 Bedrock Chardonnay + Lemon Starburst
The clean and refreshing tastes of the Bedrock Chardonnay brings out the crispness fruit flavor from the Starburst.

2007 Estate Chardonnay + Candy Corn
Candy corn, another seasonal treat, has a strong buttery vanilla taste and a creamy texture. The Estate Chardonnay pair well with the honey and vanilla flavors while its light oak doesn’t mask the candy corn goodness.

2006 Reserve Chardonnay + Twix or Reese’s
The rich creamy texture of the Reserve Chardonnay stands up nicely to the thick caramel or peanut butter and chocolate combo of Twix or Reese’s.

2006 Estate Pinot Noir + Caramels
If caramels are your Halloween weakness, our pairing choice for the toastiness of caramel and butterscotch is the Estate Pinot Noir. The acidity of white wines should stand up well to the sweetness of caramel.

2006 Reserve Pinot Noir + Assorted Hershey’s Miniatures or Snickers
The old standby of Halloween candy, the bag of Hershey’s miniatures, receives a fun new lease on life when it’s paired with the Reserve Pinot Noir. Because this wine is red, and thus has a slightly fuller body, it’s not overwhelmed by the chocolate, which can be difficult to pair because of its thick, mouth-coating texture. Best of all, it handles Special Dark and Krackel with equal aplomb.